Yard Sailing: Using Second Hand Shopping to Score Great Bargains

If you've always written off yard sales as a waste of time on a Saturday morning, today's poor economy should have you questioning your decision to pay retail price for everything you want exactly when you want it. And if it doesn't, it should be. Why pay $50 for the food processor you want to try making your own batch of pesto when you can add it to your yard sale list and find one for $5 a few weeks from now? Sure, our society has us convinced that we must immediately meet each of our wants and needs by going to the local department store, but why not stage an experiment for yourself? Give yourself a list of 10 items that you want / need that range in price from, say, $10 - $50. For the next four weekends, visit all the yard sales you can, at least 5 per Saturday and see how many of those items you can find at a deep discount. You might be pleasantly surprised.

Finding yard sales is a piece of cake. Check craigslist, check your local's papers classified listings, and look for signs on telephone poles in your area. Travel up a main thoroughfare in your area on any given Saturday, and you'll likely be inundated with yard sale signs, especially if it's between Memorial Day and Labor Day, which is prime yard sale season. Skip the turnpike, duh, or any roads with more than two lanes per side, but choose a road that continues for a while between larger population area. In my area, Route 31 is always a great bet for yardsailing.

Once you get to the yardsale, look at everything, not just the items on your list. Who knows what you will find. Last week, I found a large box of beat up costume jewelry, but deep in the bottom of the box, I found a cool vintage lion pendant and an old enamel flower pin which I scored cheap. The best thing about yard sales is that, unlike big box mass marketers, you never know what you're going to find. Yes, you'll see a lot of the same stuff from Wal-Mart, much cheaper, too, but you'll also find all sorts of random items. Maybe you don't need any of them, but it's unlikely that buying a pretty glass jar for 50 cents is going to break ya. If you find someone selling clothes in your size, check out every item. Okay, yes, some people get the skeevies about wearing second hand clothes, but get over it! It's not like you know who tried on your retail clothes before you bought them anyway. I found a crazy cute "Dork" t-shirt for 50 cents a few weeks back that would have cost me $15 new, not that I would have ever bought it new. But for 50 cents? Why not?

Remember that prices are always flexible at yard sales. The primary reason that most people have yard sales is because they simply have too much stuff for their space. Maybe they've outgrown items or changed styles or whatever, but generally, they just want it gone. I don't know of many yard sale sellers who want to haul everything back inside, and I bet that most of them, like me, pack up the leftovers and cart them to thrift stores when they are done. So you making an offer is going to be insulting, unless it's an insulting offer. Let's say a seller has something marked for $20. The lowest you can go on your offer without being a jerk is $10, and that's only if you really feel the item is overpriced... or if it's something really big and clunky and you are taking a gamble that they'd rather sell it cheap than take it back inside. Generally, you can knock 10 - 30 % off the price, so on $20, the seller would probably go down to $15, but not always. So when you make an offer, decide if you are willing to pay the full price anyway. But even if you are willing to pay full price, make the offer anyway, you never know. Sometimes, though, I don't even try to barter if the price is great. If it's already a steal, there's no need to bargain.

Buy in bulk. Another thing about yard sales is that you can sometimes get a better price if you buy a lot. So if you find ten items you want, ask the seller if they can give you a better price if you buy more. Usually, sellers are willing to deal, and if not, you either buy the stuff anyway or just walk away. Someone selling in bulk usually won't deal, so don't even try. For instance, I sell vintage and retro jewelry, and I usually have 50 plus items at a sale. If someone comes up and tries to get me to name a price for all of the jewelry, I won't do it. I make more money selling piece by piece. However, if someone comes and says, I want these three necklaces but I only have ____ amount of money, I'll probably agree to it.

Don't be a jerk. Be polite, say hello, and if the seller seems bored and chatty, talk for a few moments, even if you don't really want to. You don't have to have a full-fledged conversation, but a couple lines won't kill ya. People always give a better deal to someone they like, so don't be standoffish and cranky then expect the seller to give you a great price. Be friendly, but don't be super fake either, because that's so annoying in general. Just enjoy the experience, and who knows, you might meet someone great!